Insights

With a shortage of labour and the continuing growth of online shopping many logistics companies are finding the solution in automation. A recent survey by Logistics management found that 60% of businesses are planning to upgrade their systems or purchase new equipment within the next 12 months. There is a realisation that standing still actually…

Is the economy stabilising? The base rate set by the Bank of England is still high, so mortgage rates and interest rates for borrowers are still high, squeezing the disposable income of the average family. The net result is spending is down, major brand names, like Curry’s, are experiencing falling sales compared to previous years.…

The current problems in Logistics It’s no secret that the logistics industry is and will suffer from acute labour shortages now and in the coming years. Over the last 2 years 86% of logistics companies suffered from staff shortages. Picking and packing is the main area that has problems recruiting and retaining staff. The reasons…

Project Pavilion successfully delivered for The Wonder Group by Logistics Improvement Group Ltd. Well, here we are having successfully planned, delivered, and closed project Pavilion for our client The Wonder Group on plan at the end of June 2023 The Wonder Group Management Buy Out, the catalyst for change. Following their MBO in January 2021,…

The economic forecasts for 2023/4 Inflation has begun to fall but it is still well above the target of 2%. However, the Bank of England does expect it to fall rapidly later in the year. Energy prices are still high but are falling and that should filter through to the whole economy during the year.…

Labour and skill shortages Following the Covid pandemic the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport UK found that 86% of companies were experiencing warehouse staff shortages. People were looking for less physically demanding and more mentally rewarding work in other sectors. As a result, the remaining logistics workforce comes under even more pressure, which in turn…

The world has become a more demanding place. With Covid the growth of online shopping spiked dramatically and whilst it has since fallen back it is still higher than the pre-covid levels. Along with that, the consumers’ expectations have grown too. People expect to be able to buy online and receive their purchase(s) delivered to…

It’s just one thing after another! The easter period from 3rd to 14th April, brings the prospect of a rise in on-line shopping. At the same time, on-going strike action, is putting pressure on the logistics world to be able to source and deliver product, on time. Now add to that the Bank Holidays of…

Not many people give it a thought. The UK has always been a trading nation and to ensure that we can deliver goods abroad and receive goods from abroad we have developed an interconnected logistics sector. Air and sea freight interconnect with road and rail and make sure that the articles we ordered last week…

The year 2022 – A Summary More focussed More Third-Party Logistics companies (3PLs) narrowed their focus and concentrated on industries that aligned more to their strengths. The largest sector is still retail, whilst products for the leisure industries, namely bottled goods, are showing a continued decline. This is, more than likely, linked to the social…

The Covid pandemic created a huge increase in on-line shopping to 37.8% of all retail buying in January 2021. This fell back to 27.7 in August, followed by a pre-Christmas peak of 32.8% in November 2021. Through 2022 it fell back to 24.6% in August and is now climbing again to another pre-Christmas peak already…

‘Tis the Season to be Jolly … We don’t often blow our own trumpet but as it is Christmas, we just wanted to let off a little steam and enjoy telling you this – LIG are proud that a project of ours, with Urban Outfitters, won – The Supply Chain Warehouse Excellence award in 2021.…

The problems surrounding logistics today Not so long ago, the only difficulty when forecasting the future performance of a company was when will the new contracts come in and how much will they be worth. Outgoings were a steady constant in the main. Now forecasting is much more difficult because there are many variable cost…

Issues that must be addressed The Logistics Improvement Group (LiG) in close liaison with the client will itemise, and manage these issues: Get a thorough understanding of the business as it is, how each aspect of it works, and how everything is expected to work once it has been re-formatted. Find all acceptable new sites…

Frustration is the most prevalent emotion Having just survived the pressures caused by Covid, namely the demand for more rapid turn-round rates and increasing staff shortages, the industry is now facing supply line disruptions as well as a shortage of staff and also micro-chips making the completion of automation equipment more difficult. It appears that…

The current situation The world of Logistics has had so many things thrown at it over the last 2 years. First, we had Covid causing the loss of foreign workers and the boom in on-line sales. And now, we have the fall-out from the invasion of Ukraine by Russia: Fuel prices, a vital element of…

The pressure on logistics is easing As the Covid pandemic receded and everyone breathed a sigh of relief, the Russian invasion of Ukraine rapidly moved us all into a bad situation again. Fuel and food prices are now rising dramatically pushing inflation towards double figures and the disposable income of the average family and business…

As the pandemic wanes the Russian invasion of Ukraine brings more problems for the embattled logistics industry. On-line demand is falling The pandemic boom in on-line sales slows as people are allowed to go out to the shops. Due to the conflict in Ukraine, UK energy prices are rising at unprecedented levels. Rises of over…

Introduction In February 2020 online retail spending accounted for 19.7% of all retail spending. In January 2022 that percentage had risen to 27.1%. * This is a growth of 37.5%. Customers demand rapid delivery of their purchases and so this is driving the necessity to automate the logistics industry. So why can’t the logistics world…

Smarter and faster – is it a Problem As the online share of retail sales continues to grow, the need for more efficient and faster turn-round times in the logistics industry increases. Adding to this pressure is the expected surge in spending for this coming Easter and the Queens Jubilee extended Bank Holiday in June.…

The current situation Having had to cope with shutdowns, which also contributed to the rising trend in on-line shopping, the industry is now facing the Omicron scourge. This is leading to temporary staff shortages which then creates a domino effect throughout logistics. The Prognosis The phrase “we are all going to have to learn to…

The current situation You’ve come out of a hectic Christmas couple of months, and you are breathing a sigh of relief. It was hard work, but you coped, and now you want to be able to do more than cope. You know that your business has to become more efficient and improve turn-around times, but…

The Current Situation Business is brisk and you can cope but you know that if the company is to progress you will need to extend capacity and performance. So, you have decided to begin the planning of a business transformation in the New Year.   Planning, organizing and implementation You know there is a need…

There are currently two major supply chain issues facing industry: – Can you fulfil the orders quickly enough and accurately enough? Is delivery slowing you down? Fulfilment Problems Now that more and more buyers are shopping online the fulfilment process takes on a different perspective. Instead of picking and packing for an outlet you may…

The Problem Through spring and summer, the plans were drawn up for transforming your business to face the increasing volume of online shopping. You even won a new client, on the basis that your plans would mean smooth and efficient order taking, fulfilment and dispatch. Now the transformation programme has hit snag after snag and…

The Coming Storm There will be a surge of demand this autumn given that online shopping is becoming much more the norm. Add to that, the fact that people are still uncertain about mixing with large numbers of people, particularly in shopping malls during the run-up to Christmas. Consequently, online demand will be higher, and…

The effect of the pandemic E-commerce has boomed in every market sector. Consequently, there is a need for more and more warehouse space and for more and better fulfilment systems. Whilst high-street retailers increased their warehouse occupancy by 5%, the overall warehouse occupancy grew by 32%*. Most of the space has been taken up by…

The Reason As Covid swept the country more and more people, out of necessity, began to shop online, for nearly everything, the need for more efficient order taking, processing, picking and packing grew and grew. The Result The logistics world had no choice but to react in order to keep up with the demand and…

There can be little doubt that the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the underlying, pre-2020 trend, of growth in the online retail sector. The proportion spent online in March 2021 was 34.7% compared with 23.1% reported in March 2020. These are the statistics produced by the Office of National Statistics and show the importance of online…

Why now? The Covid-19 pandemic has meant home delivery has become more the norm. Today’s consumer expects their order to be picked, packed and delivered when and where they want and fast. The e-commerce landscape is rapidly developing and is increasingly competitive. Retailers, manufacturers, and distributors have to supply all kinds of packages direct to…

What is the problem? 2020 started with mounting pressure on clothing retailers. More and more UK consumers were embracing online shopping. But without doubt, the biggest game-changer was the Covid-19 pandemic. The UK Government announced a country lockdown on March 23. The effect on UK retail has been significant. Consumers moved to on-line retail at…

2020 started with mounting pressure on retailers as more UK consumers than ever embraced online shopping. But as rumours about famous retail brands struggling circulated, without doubt the biggest game changer has been Covid 19.  Officially labelled a pandemic on March 11, the UK Government announced the country would go into lockdown on March 23…